Amajiimbos down Lesotho in African Youth Championships warm-up

Our men’s Under-17 football team defeated Lesotho 2-0 in a tightly contested friendly match played at the Mafeteng Stadium in Lesotho on Thursday.

This was South Africa’s third match on the road (following two wins over Botswana last week) but on this occasion, they found the going tougher against Lesotho.

The Amajimbos got the opening goal in the 18th minute through captain Nelson Maluleka ÔÇô his third in three outings.

The hosts proved more formidable opponents and were a constant thorn in the visitors’ defence but poor finishing let them down as they missed several scoring opportunities.

Coach Molefi Ntseki made several changes in his starting line-up as he gave more players the opportunity to impress before finalising his 18-man squad for the trip to Tanzania for the 2015 African Youth Championship qualifier.

Among those getting a run was midfielder Athenkosi Dlala who arrived in camp on Wednesday after attending a family bereavement.

Lesotho piled on the pressure and Ntseki made some substitutions. One of them, Vuyo Mantjie, scored in the 38th minute of the second half, a goal, which gave the South Africans breathing space. It ended 2-0 in favour of the Amajimbos.

The matches are all part of the preparations for the crucial 2015 African Youth Championship qualifier against Tanzania on Friday, 18 July in Dar es Salaam.